Discovering Tuscany

Discovering Tuscany

Travel History and Local Traditions

 A Trip to Tuscany is a unique experience and must definitely include an in-depth visit to Florence, the capital of the Renaissance, day trips to beautifully landscaped small villages perched on the hills that have so much inspired painters and more recently film directors and producers.

One of the most interesting cities is undoubtedly Siena, in the southern part of the region, a medieval city of ancient origins which still preserves its treasures intact, so much so that it is among the Unesco Heritage site.

Tuscany also boasts a remarkable winemaking tradition; some of the most important Italian wines are produced in the province of Siena, such as the world renowned Brunello di Montalcino.

Local Typical Food products are also very important; just think of the famous Florentine steak and panforte and ricciarelli, typical Sienese sweets.

You will be welcomed by local guides and escorts, with knowledge of local places and traditions

Trips range from 2 nights and 3 days for city itineraries to one week for broader programs and 14 nights and 15 days for journeys across multiple regions, designed and customized for thematic groups, family holidays and business trips.

Siena is world-renowned for the Palio, a breathtaking horserace featuring local neighborhoods, known as Contrade, famous for their ancient traditions

A Knowledge Tourism that features local customs, values ​​and traditions to better appreciate:

Museums that reveal an archaeological, historical and artistic heritage, the rediscovery of local treasures and traditions through art, literature and architecture that preserve the memory of the places and local realities visited.

Characteristic ancient villages shaped since ancient times by the skilful hand of man and ancient agricultural practices.

Local Gastronomy, the result of ancient traditions and linked to the territory.

Traveling in the company of people who live and work in the places you visit

Italian text courtesy of Costanza Riccardi

A Tuscan Countryside Medieval Castle and Arms Museum

Monteriggioni stands on a hilltop surrounded by olive trees and vines. Its castle dates-back to the early 13^th century; it was built by the Republic of Siena as a defensive outpost against Florence. The Medieval Town maintains its original architectural features and is unique among Tuscany’s borghi. The stone outer wall is 570 meters long and features 14 rectangular towers; they made a great impression on Dante Alighieri who defined them as giants in hell. Walking on top of the walls provides a spectacular view of the countryside, the Chianti region and the Elsa Valley.

The Arms Museum houses faithful reproductions of medieval and renaissance weapons and armor as well as siege machines and techniques. Each room is devoted to a specific moment in Monteriggioni history. Visitors can wear the armor and handle the weapons.

The Church is located on the main square and is the best-preserved property in the borgo. Also built in the 13^th century, it consists of a single interior space with a rectangular end. Its elegant façade displays a doorway with a stone arch topped by a round window while the renovated interior has plastered walls and domed vaults; the bell dates to 1299. The church is also home to a 17^th century painting of the Madonna and Rosary which the town celebrates every year in October.

Porta Franca is the main entrance to the borgo; it stands below a tower with a pointed arch and facing towards Rome. In the past it likely had a drawbridge over a moat. To the left of the arch is an inscription commemorating the founding of Monteriggioni in the 1220s, while a plaque on the right celebrates the new Italian state in 1860.

Porta di Ponente is the gateway facing Florence. Some battlements incorporated in the walling above indicate that the defensive wall was probably lower. Similar battlements in the facing of the walls on the east side. To the right of the entrance, which used to have an outer protective wall, a plaque quotes lines from Dante that mention Monteriggioni.

In Medieval Times, on the southwest side of the outer walls, there was a third gateway, later walled in; the upper part is still visible from the outer road. In the 16^th century, the base of the outer walls was reinforced with an earth rampart in response to the introduction of new and more powerful firearms.

A Medieval Travel Experience in Tuscany

A Chocolate Tour of Italy

Artisanal Bio and Industrial Factories in Tuscany Piedmont Emilia Romagna and Umbria

Chocolate History up until the late 18^th century, chocolate only existed in liquid form and was drunk exclusively by the aristocracy and the clergy, only to spread to other sectors of society, beginning with the wealthy merchant classes.

The drink of the gods dates back to the Maya, using cocoa beans to prepare a beverage, the Xocoatl, with a very spicy and intense flavor. Cocoa becomes a very valuable commodity.
Christopher Columbus and Cortes discover the Americas, the cocoa plant and bear the seeds for the first time in Europe. The recipe of the Aztecs, with red pepper and hot spices, is modified with cinnamon, sugar, vanilla and cocoa for a sweeter taste.
In Italy, Venetian and Florentine masters give life to the art of preparing chocolate and start exporting it.
19^th Century chocolate becomes accessible to a wider audience, product quality improves and new varieties are created. New manufacturing processes separate cocoa paste and cocoa butter.

Turin is the Birthplace of Gianduja and Home to Many Fine Chocolatiers

Did You Know That the ideal environment for chocolate, which must be kept cool and dry, is at a temperature between 15 °- 18 ° C. Tempering is an operation that serves to give chocolate a stable crystalline structure to make it shiny, bright and free of veining. The white coating that forms on the chocolate is Cocoa Butter after heat shock or exposure to light. Cocoa grows in the tropics. Wines, spirits and beers pair well with dark chocolate with medium to high cocoa content of - 70% to 90%.

White Chocolate has this color because it is obtained from cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder, but is not added to the paste of cocoa, which corresponds to the dark part of the cocoa. The percentage of cocoa indicated on the wrapper indicates the sum of cocoa butter, cocoa mass and powder, present.

A traditional Saint Valentine’s Day Gift: heart of Gianduja and hazelnuts, garnished with a whole hazelnut and coated with dark chocolate

Tasting Chocolate

Sight color and brilliance communicate chocolate perfection; the best are shiny. Check its nuances and gloss before tasting it.
Tact scroll slowly the chocolate with your fingers to uncover its silky texture. Feel it on your lips: good chocolate is smooth, velvety and melts quickly.
Smell a lingering, intoxicating and intense fragrance: cocoa releases olfactory emotions that are never forgotten. Breathe deeply and feel all the richness and harmony of aromas.
Hear break the tablet with your fingers and listen to the sensual sound it produces.
Taste the endless aromas that make chocolate a most intoxicating experience for the palate.

Meet the Only Woman in the World to Claim the Title of Chocolatier

Our Chocolate Itineraries let you follow the various processes of chocolate making, including explanatory videos and chocolate tasting, as you walk through the whole production process from the beans to the grains of cocoa and from the refinement of the mixture right through to the processing of the chocolate. You also learn the art of chocolate tasting. 

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